ONEROUS Synonyms: 109 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the adjective 'onerous' contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of onerous are burdensome , exacting , and oppressive . While all these words mean "imposing hardship," onerous stresses being laborious and heavy especially because distasteful. // the onerous task of cleaning up the mess

Q: In what contexts can 'burdensome' take the place of 'onerous'?

The synonyms burdensome and onerous are sometimes interchangeable, but burdensome suggests causing mental as well as physical strain. // burdensome responsibilities

Q: Where would 'exacting' be a reasonable alternative to 'onerous'?

While the synonyms exacting and onerous are close in meaning, exacting implies rigor or sternness rather than tyranny or injustice in the demands made or in the one demanding. // an exacting employer

Q: When might 'oppressive' be a better fit than 'onerous'?

In some situations, the words oppressive and onerous are roughly equivalent. However, oppressive implies extreme harshness or severity in what is imposed. // the oppressive tyranny of a police state

onerous

adjective

ˈä-nə-rəs

Definition of onerous next

as in tough

difficult to endure had the onerous and stressful job of notifying the families of soldiers killed in action

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in challenging

requiring much time, effort, or careful attention building the scale model of the frigate was an onerous task

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective onerous contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of onerous are burdensome, exacting, and oppressive. While all these words mean "imposing hardship," onerous stresses being laborious and heavy especially because distasteful.

the onerous task of cleaning up the mess

In what contexts can burdensome take the place of onerous?

The synonyms burdensome and onerous are sometimes interchangeable, but burdensome suggests causing mental as well as physical strain.

burdensome responsibilities

Where would exacting be a reasonable alternative to onerous?

While the synonyms exacting and onerous are close in meaning, exacting implies rigor or sternness rather than tyranny or injustice in the demands made or in the one demanding.

an exacting employer

When might oppressive be a better fit than onerous?

In some situations, the words oppressive and onerous are roughly equivalent. However, oppressive implies extreme harshness or severity in what is imposed.

the oppressive tyranny of a police state

Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of onerous For starters, say filmmakers and advocates, much can be done to tackle the city’s sclerotic bureaucracy, onerous regulations and a slow and costly permitting process that has pushed filmmakers to flee to friendlier and cheaper locales. —

Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2026 The latter, known as cap-and-trade, was favored by corporate interests as being less onerous and was adopted, finally taking effect in 2012. —

Dan Walters, Mercury News, 15 May 2026 Furthermore, per the committee’s findings, the mandatory DEI training inundated the department’s criminal investigations wing with group meetings, assignments, and other onerous tasks that took time away from actual fraud investigations. —

Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 13 May 2026 This is a vital source of trade-level information for independent researchers because Dune doesn’t impose onerous data transfer rate limits that hamper searches. —

Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 13 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for onerous

Recent Examples of Synonyms for onerous

Adjective

Management has partly attributed the membership slowdown to tougher comparisons from a year earlier, but there’s more to the story.

— Paulina Likos, CNBC, 28 May 2026
The California Assembly on Thursday overwhelming voted in favor of a bill that would prohibit children under 16 years old from having a social media account, setting up what is likely to continue to be a tough battle over the coming months.

— Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 28 May 2026